UK meat exporters strengthen ties with US market

A selection of meat exporters travelled to Washington DC last week to receive training on meeting US regulatory requirements for beef and lamb imports.

The visit signified a key step in preparing for an official inspection visit to the UK, expected sometime in 2017.

“The industry representatives found the visit very worthwhile and the preliminary training puts us in a good position to ensure that we are able to agree equivalence between UK and US regulatory requirements when the inspection visit takes place,” said Dr Phil Hadley, head of global supply chain development at the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Beef & Lamb.

“The dynamic US market offers significant opportunities for UK beef and lamb at a time when it’s particularly important for us to develop new markets alongside ensuring we maintain demand in existing markets,” added Hadley.

The training took place in a number of facilities that focused on helping the delegates gain an understanding into the market in a variety of areas. Areas of focus included: Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection requirements; Port of Entry requirements; Shiga Toxin Producing E.coli testing requirements and procedures; and the increasing awareness of the US marketplace and the challenges faced by foreign importers.